Before you can reasonably expect your visitors to spring for your services, you have to demonstrate to them what those services are. Explaining your services accurately, fully, and in a way that appeals to visitors to your site will undoubtedly lead to more conversions and cement more long-term customer relationships.
But What Are the Best Ways to Do That?
The Industry Difference
First, it’s vital to note that demonstrating the operation and worth of one’s services is easier for some industries than it is for others. For example, most SaaS companies have software whose operations can be demonstrated directly in the digital medium.
They can offer free trials or demo videos to show users what it’s actually like to use a given program. But for a more subjective and personal experience such as whale watching, illustrating what it’s like isn’t going to be nearly as easy.
Though the practical tips in this article can probably be used by almost any business, they’re designed to slightly favor the harder-to-capture industries, since straightforward outfits can use straightforward means to promote themselves.
Practical Tips for Better Demonstration
Think about you might be able to employ the following strategies to demonstrate your services on your website more effectively:
- Break it down with a simple video. It can be pretty difficult to describe a concept concisely. That one of the reasons it’s so challenging to pitch startup concepts. You typically have a limited amount of time to convince a chance visitor to stick around and learn more, so you have to cram as much information as possible into that brief opportunity. That’s where videos may come in so handy: They’re a naturally concise method of presenting information, and visitors usually have a somewhat longer attention span for visual presentations. Consider using an “explainer” video to run through what your service is, exactly; one that relies on images or short clips in collaboration with an authoritative and informative voiceover that will give your audience the long and short of what you’re offering them.
- Show the service in action. Instead of telling your audience what your service is, do your best to show them. Don’t waste any time or verbiage trying to describe what your company does with words; instead, present a video that shows the service in action, perhaps with existing customers experiencing it, if any of them are willing to participate. For instance, you might highlight your catering service by bringing steaming hot fare into a decorated venue … or shoot a video of a water skier trying out the sport. You won’t be able you to include the smells or encompassing thrill of the experience, but this will help the viewer get closer to a fuller understanding of what you do well.
- Reduce your service to a small series of steps or takeaways. People can follow lists with ease. Lists make everything more comprehensible in less time. Try to reduce your service to several steps or a number of “key takeaways” that your customers should know. This is especially useful if your service is fairly complicated, or it takes place over an extended period of time. You can illustrate the steps you select with images or drawings that present a visual element, and use branding to make the steps even more appealing (incorporating elements such as “1-2-3” or “X steps to a better you”).
- Focus on the benefits, rather than the features. If you have multiple packages to explain, and you’re trying to convince a visitor that it’s worth investing in your service, it pays to focus on the benefits, rather than staying with the features. If you spend time on listing the features, that tends to bring the visitors’ logical side into the decision-making process. In contrast, citing the benefits will appeal more to their experiential and emotional side. It encourages people to picture themselves actually using your service; it gives them a preview of what they’re apt to experience … rather than serving a bland verbal description of the service that isolates it from the act of enjoying it.
- Rely on reviews and testimonials. People often rely on reviews and testimonials by other customers to help them make their decisions because most of us trust third parties more than corporations or brands. It’s often better to have your service explained by someone who’s been through it than by the people in-house who create it. That way, you’ll provide a more accurate, down-to-earth view of the average customer’s experience of your service, and this will inevitably appeal to and convince more potential customers as a result.
When you incorporate the above steps, your audience will surely have a better understanding of what you offer, more insight into the value and benefits of your services, and a greater incentive to follow through with an actual purchase.
Experiment by presenting your services in different ways — perhaps by using different landing pages — and keep improving your approach over time. Eventually, you’ll identify an ideal balance that displays your services accurately and wins you the most possible conversions.
